For those who have lived here long enough, you remember him from the original post of 2008, because – oddly – I receive references about ‘the stand-up guy’ regularly from you. That we all have one, and so-and-so is yours and how do we go back to having that rightfully placed instinct to find these men as we get older…?
Some days back he sent me a message asking “What would you think of a large, white, non-Muslim man sporting a hat that reads salaam? Does that send positive vibes or is it just weird?”
I all-capped my response that he DO IT ASAP ASAP ASAP and then send me a photo of said doing.
So he did, with the intention of combating Islamophobia in a very loud, clear and direct way, while in-tandem showing his solidarity to Muslims.
Here is the large goof, forever one of my favourite people in the story of my life, with his Salaam (the Arabic word and script for ‘peace’) hat on:
On the back of which is the English translation of the word on the front – Peace:
Via One Love, you too can make this same statement by buying your own hat and wearing it as proudly as him.
You’re right, this hat is a way of combating Islamophobia. But it’s more than that. Islamophobia is one form of intolerance. And, really, this hat is my way of combating intolerance on several fronts. Specifically:
1) It’s a way of saying welcome to the tens of thousands of Syrians who will soon be here, feeling utterly bewildered in their new home. My heart aches for them. In the big picture, I can’t do all that much to fix their broken lives. I can help them resettle to the best of my ability. And, maybe most importantly, I can be kind and welcoming.
2) It’s a call to my fellow non-Muslims: It’s completely appropriate and totally understandable to be livid at the sociopaths who comprise ISIS and other religiously-motivated terror groups. It’s appropriate and necessary, I believe, to use force to combat them. (And, also, to invest in longer-term strategies that eliminate the reasons why young men join terror groups in the first place. But that’s a complex issue, best saved for another time). It is, however, utterly unacceptable to conflate all Muslims with these ideological sociopaths. If you find yourself equating Islam with terrorism, ask yourself how many Muslim friends you have. I mean, really, how many Muslims do you actually know? Like, have you been to their place for dinner and played with their kids and just hung out? Probably not. Because, I know quite a few Muslims and–newsflash–they’re totally normal people. It’s almost like they’re exactly like the rest of us! So, get to know some Muslims before you freak the fuck out over Islam. Categorical intolerance is the problem, not the solution. Remember my non-Muslim friends: ISIS and other terror groups kill other Muslims too–more Muslims than non-Muslims, actually. Also, my Christian friends, the KKK is a “Christian” group but we don’t tend to view Christianity as the root cause of its evil. We see, quite correctly, that it is a group comprised of hateful, nasty, close-minded and vicious pricks. Ditto for ISIS. Double-standards are a sign of lazy thinking. And lazy-thinking, my friends, is deeply unsexy. All belief systems–all of them–are susceptible to being twisted and manipulated into ideologies of hate. Stay sexy: don’t let yours be one of them.
3) It’s a call to Muslims: Hi guys. A lot of you are speaking out about how Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance. In actuality it is–like all religions–a religion that is interpreted differently by a lot of different people. All the Muslims I know are truly devoted to a peaceful and pluralistic interpretation of Islam. But there are definitely Muslims–non-terrorist, non-violent Muslims–who nevertheless don’t feel this way, who prefer an Islam that is isolationist, fundamentalist and anti-secular in nature. Christianity has them too: Bible Thumpers. So, for what it’s worth, this is my way of giving props to my Muslim friends who work hard to live as the Prophet Muhammad advises:
“What actions are most excellent? To gladden the heart of human beings, to feed the hungry, to help the afflicted, to lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and to remove the sufferings of the injured.”
Peace be upon you, my peeps.
4) Lastly, it’s a direct Fuck-You to ISIS. Dear Idiots: I am purposefully appropriating your white-script-on-black-background brand in order to flip your message of divisiveness on its stupid ass, judo style. You want me to hate Muslims, ISIS? You want to divide the world? You want a religio-ideological war? You’ll get one for a bit. But guess what? It’ll peter out. In the end, Muslims and non-Muslims are going to work together to eliminate you. You know what happens when two groups band together to fight a common enemy? They tend to grow closer. They become allies and, eventually, friends. So, yeah, you’re causing some shit. You’re making things pretty fucking tense right now. In the short term, you’re increasing the distrust between Islam and the rest of the world. But you know what? In the long term, I think you might actually help bring Muslims and non-Muslims closer together. In the end, we’ll all be eating hummus and drinking Coca-Cola and partying like its Eid and Christmas combined. And you’ll be dead. You lose, shitbirds.
You have always been a good man.
Love to you, Lyana, and Baby x
Thank you for sharing all of your reasoning behind the purchase.
I will follow suit and order the same.
Maha, good to know your original taste in men is spot-on 😉
Thank you Daemon.
-Steve